Minestrone Milanese

½ cup of kidney beans, soaked overnight. Drain and begin the process of this delicious soup
½ cup of your favorite bite size pasta
½ cup olive oil
1 can (28 ounce) of Hunt’s Crushed Tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
½ teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Pepper to taste
2 teaspoons sweet basil
2 chicken bouillon
1 quart of water
1 onion chopped
4 stalks of parsley chopped
4 stalks of celery, sliced
2 cups of shredded cabbage
2 cups of sliced carrots
1 cup of diced potatoes
½ cup of Asiago cheese

In a large pot heat olive oil and add the fresh vegetables, sauté until tender.  Add beans, seasoning, bouillon and water until beans are tender about an hour.  Then add the pasta and continue cooking until tender.  You may need to add additional water flavored with chicken bouillon.

Slice and butter a loaf of French Bread which granulated garlic has been added to the melted butter.  Place on a cookie sheet or wrapped in foil until hot.  Enjoy with the Minestrone and your favorite glass of wine!  This recipe will entitle you to having some fun!  Let's have some fun!

 

Trader Joe's

To all my readers, have you had the experience of grocery shopping at a Trader Joe's?  I had the unique most amazing experience while visiting my son in California!  Absolutely a fun and wonderful experience.  Guess what?  Trader Joe's is now in Houston! Yea!  And yes, I am, we are having fun!.  Trader Joe's is located on the corner of Alabama and Shepherd, located in the historic Alabama Theatre.  Now, read this, OMG, you are going to love it.  Trader Joe's has this jar of Cookie Butter!  Yes Cookie Butter!  On the jar the cookie butter is described as being ginger cookies and biscuits which have been creamed together in to a spread.  Deliciousness and the flavor of Autumn!  Spread the Cookie Butter on toast, your own biscuits and better yet homemade pancakes.  And if you have purchased my cookbook, I have a pancake recipe called Sandy's Pancakes on Page 56.  They are wonderful and taste amazing topped with this cookie butter after they have been hot off of the grill!

Let your imagination take over and create a different array of possibilities!

Remember, you are going to have fun with the Cookie Butter, Sandy's Pancakes and Trader Joe's!

Grape Pie           

My first experience indulging in this great dessert was in California.  Grapes, never thought about eating a pie created from grapes.  Oh my gosh, this is so good!  So refreshing and you will love it!  What is the next plan?  One guess, we are going to have some fun!

Prepare your own pie crust or you can purchase one pre made in the refrigerator section in your grocery store.  Use a 9” shallow pie plate and place the raw dough into the pie plate.  Set aside while you make the filling.

5 cups of fresh grapes, mix red and green seedless, rinsed well and set aside.  The colors are so pleasing to the eye and pallet.

Place washed grapes in a 3 quart sauce pan and 1 cup water, just to cover the grapes

¼ cup brown sugar – The grapes have a natural amount of sugar, be careful not to over sweeten
Juice from 1 fresh squeezed lemon
3 tablespoons of salted butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Cook the grapes gently until the grapes just begin to soften, do not over cook.  About 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, measure 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and make a paste with 2 tablespoons of water.

Pour over the grapes and cook until the grape mixture begins to thicken.  Make sure the grape mixture does not become too thickened.  Let the grapes cool down and then place in pie crust and bake at 375 degrees for one hour.  Do not forget about the brown sugar topping below.  Cover lightly with foil so that your crust does not burn.

Top with brown sugar crunch topping

2/3 cup flour
6 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons of butter, cold and cubed

Mix all ingredients by hand until crumbly and place on top of pie and bake accordingly.

You will love this and you are going to have some fun!

 

 

Hummus

We all have had really good hummus and really bad hummus.  The best hummus I have enjoyed was at Trader Joe’s Grocery store in Glendale, California.  Houston is waiting impatiently for a Trader Joe’s! Until then, I have a recipe that is better than most you can purchase in the store.  Easy also!  Remember we are going to have some fun here!

5 garlic cloves – peeled and placed in a food processor and processed using the blade attachment.  In order to make sure your garlic is evenly distributed, process first by itself.  Then add the rest of the ingredients.

1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)  - purchased at the Asian/International Imports in your grocery store.  I have found tahini at HEB, Kroger, and I have seen this jar of tahini even in Walmart.  You cannot get the authentic taste of hummus without this, no substitutions.  Make sure to stir the jar well before measuring.

½ teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt
Juice from 2 fresh lemons
2 cans of chick peas – well drained – save liquid from one can
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 dashes of hot sauce
½ teaspoon of ground pepper
Liquid from the saved one can of chick peas

Blend in a food processor the above  ingredients until smooth and creamy, not too thick and not thin at all, just smooth and creamy.

Enjoy with corn tortillas which have been cut in wedges, placed in a 350 degree oven until crispy.

Refrigerate any left overs, if there are any! 

Okay, open that bottle of wine and just enjoy and have fun!

 

 

Corn and Mango Salad  

Texas is still blistering hot.  Not ready for soups and comfort food, not yet!  Cool refreshing recipes are craved through September.  This recipe is simple and easy and you will find yourself wanting more!

I hope you have fun , enjoy!

1 can of Green Giant Corn – well drained

1 mango, peeled, sliced and chopped – make sure to wash the outer skin with warm water and soap.  Salmonella has been a problem with mango’s with the yellow sticker, be careful and be safe.
1 avocado – sliced and chopped in large chunks
2 tablespoons of light sour cream

Lightly toss and refrigerate

You can season if you wish with salt and pepper.  Honestly, this is so good, you will not need to add any seasoning.

Chill and serve with my marinated chicken breasts, fish or open a can of tuna.  You can serve with wheat crackers or just serve and eat as is.

Dare to indulge, open that bottle of wine, red or white, whatever your preference!  Just have fun!